The N64 is the best gaming console ever

Video games can divide fans as much as movies, TV shows, and football teams, if not more.

But as long as gaming exists there will always be debate and disagreements over which are the best and, in this instance, which is the greatest console of all time.

Growing up, my first proper experience of non-handheld video games was when my brother and I got a Commodore 64 one Christmas in the very early ’90s.

Suffice to say it forged some awesome memories as we struggled through Flimbo’s Quest before advancing our gaming capacity from the ‘already installed’ games to the cassette tape titles such as Ghostbusters.

Glorious times.

Then came arguably the defining consoles of the 1990s: The Super Nintendo and Sega Mega Drive.

My brother owned the former and I had the latter.

Suffice to say we still argued over sharing respective consoles but it was nice to finally have our own, despite both already in possession of our well-worn Game Boys.

In 1997 that all changed.

The box of dreams

When the Nintendo 64 launched It wasn’t an immediate purchase, mainly because its initial price was steep.

After the tag dropped £100 to compete with the already popular Sony PlayStation, Christmas came along and it was game on.

Even though we were again forced to share the console, it wasn’t as bad this time around, largely down to the superb multiplayer games on offer.

The first thing that grabbed me was its graphics.

I’d never seen anything like it and at the time was an absolute breakthrough in games technology.

Advanced 3D graphics and the introduction of 64-bit gaming not only trounced the PlayStation’s 32, it opened up a whole new world of three-dimensional gaming.

Super Mario 64 was like nothing I’d ever seen.

Super Mario 64: ‘a proper, interactive world’ (Picture: Nintendo)

Frankly, it was marvellous playing something where you could race around a proper, interactive world, and explore and adjust the camera to cover all aspects of it.

And that controller was revolutionary too.

Extraordinarily shaped and ergonomically designed to perfection; it looked alien to the standard rectangular pads I’d been used to and introduced a handful of new buttons as well.

It was unlike any bog-standard pad I’d ever touched and immediately feel in love with it.

Then GoldenEye came and blew everyone away.

GoldenEye: ‘a game-changer’ (Picture: Nintendo)

It was a game-changer when it came to first-person gaming because the multiplayer was, and still is, sensational.

I’ve no idea how many consecutive evenings after school myself, my brother, and two friends would race home to button-bash our thumbs numb thanks to its immersive and completely addictive multiplayer.

The games that followed were immense: Banjo-Kazooie; Turok 2: Seeds of Evil; Super Smash Bros.; Jet Force Gemini, Perfect Dark.

But the console-defining title was ’98’s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time; a game so engrossing, so epic, and so goddamn inventive that almost 20 years on I still get goosebumps thinking about the impact it had on me.

An almighty game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Picture: Nintendo)

The soundtrack continues to play in my head for a game that is still the best I’ve ever played.

Nostalgia and the copious memories play a huge role in why the N64 is the ultimate console.

But it’s not the personal attachment alone that cements its gaming crown.

It was the compete, exhilarating package, and the years of thrills and frustration, and having to save up for a £50 cartridge for Nintendo or Rare’s latest exclusive.

While modern consoles, such as PlayStation 4 and other classics like the Dreamcast, were revolutionary in the scheme of developing video games tech, the N64 will always come out on top.